SMART FILTER: The technology giant is using artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight interference
Ahead of the General Elections in India, Facebook has been blocking or removing about one million accounts a day using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Facebook and its family of apps are making sure the elections are fair and free from interference both foreign and domestic, Facebook India's managing director and vice president Ajit Mohan said in a blog post on Monday.
"We have gotten better at using artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight interference. For example, these tools help us block or remove approximately one million accounts a day. They also help us, at a large scale, identify abusive or violating content, quickly locate it across the platform and remove it in bulk. This dramatically reduces its ability to spread. We continue to expand on this initiative, adding 24 new languages — including 16 for India — to our automatic translation system," he said.
Last week, the company removed around 700 pages, groups and accounts in India for violating Facebook's policies on coordinated inauthentic behaviour and spam.
"Promoting election integrity in India isn't something Facebook can do alone. We have recently joined other social media companies in a voluntary code of ethics for the general elections with the Election Commission of India (ECI). It includes measures like a dedicated communications channel for notice and take-down after receiving valid legal order, processing of valid requests in the blackout period ahead of voting and voter education efforts. This builds on the ongoing dialogue we have had with the commission, as well as with the campaigns and political parties," he said.
This work is done across dozens of teams, both in India and around the globe, and began more than 18 months ago with a detailed planning and risk assessment across Facebook's platforms. "The findings allowed us to concentrate our work on key areas, including blocking and removing fake accounts; fighting the spread of misinformation; stopping abuse by domestic actors; spotting attempts at foreign meddling; and taking action against inauthentic coordinated campaigns," Mohan said.
The social networking firm said it will activate new regional operations centres, focused on election integrity, in Singapore and Dublin. These teams include engineers, operations specialists and data scientists, and will work closely with the staff in Menlo Park, California headquarters, as well as with local experts in Delhi.
Mohan said one of the most important new product changes launched is political ad transparency tools, giving people a clearer picture of who is placing the ads they see. Anyone who wants to run an ad in India related to politics has to first confirm their identity and location and give more details about who paid for or published the ad.
POLL POLICY
- Facebook has joined other social media companies in a voluntary code of ethics for the general elections
- It includes measures like a dedicated communications channel for notice and take-down after receiving valid legal order
- It launched political ad transparency tools, giving people a clearer picture of who is placing the ads they see
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